Where does “un-” come from?
un- (English) comes from Middle English un-, from Old English un-, from Proto-West Germanic un-, from Proto-Germanic un-, from Proto-Indo-European n̥-, from Proto-Indo-European ne — not.
un- (English): not; absent; lacking; not; negative; contrary to...
Definitions
- not; absent; lacking; not; negative; contrary to...
Ancestry of “un-”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | Middle English | un- | — |
| 2 | Old English | un- | negation or absence of: un-, non-; bad; forms... |
| 3 | Proto-West Germanic | un- | not, un- |
| 4 | Proto-Germanic | un- | not, un- |
| 5 | Proto-Indo-European | n̥- | not, un- |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | ne | not |